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Rep. Ben Unger, D-Hillsboro, participates in an education funding summit in Forest Grove last January. Unger is running for re-election in a district that has changed parties twice in the last two elections.
(Michal Thompson, The Hillsboro Argus)

When the Oregon Legislature convenes next year for its next long session, there will be plenty of new faces.

Nine of 26 House Republicans, more than a third, have announced they won’t seek a another term, while 14 percent of Democrats are moving on.

Rep. Wally Hicks, R-Grants Pass, is the latest to join the wave. On Monday, he announced that he would seek the elected position of Josephine County counsel. Republicans are expected to hold Hicks’ House seat, where they enjoy a 4,859-voter registration edge.

But potentially competitive races are lining up in the Portland suburbs, Bend and elsewhere. Strategists expect Democrats will fare worse in the coming election than they did in 2012 thanks to lower voter turnout. However Republican retirements have opened up some opportunities for Ds to pick up seats.

Here are some updates from races across the state.

House District 29 (Hillsboro, Forest Grove)

Rep. Ben Unger, D-Hillsboro, will seek a second term in the Oregon House. Speculation about Unger’s political aspirations swirled among politicos in Washington County who thought he may run against Washington County Chair Andy Duyck or Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Hillsboro. Unger’s likely Republican opponent in the November election is Washington County Deputy District Attorney Mark Richman. Democrats hold a 2,193-voter registration edge over Republicans in the district.

All three have formed political action committees, but only Lininger, a former Clackamas County commissioner, has raised money ahead of the appointment. According to filings with the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office, Lininger has raised $15,435 since Jan. 3.

House District 40 (Oregon City, Clackamas County)

Rep. Brent Barton, D-Oregon City, faces a rematch against Steve Newgard, a Republican contractor from Milwaukie. Newgard filed to run in the Republican primary for House District 40 earlier this week. Barton narrowly defeated Newgard by 348 votes in 2012.

House District 45 (Portland)

Multnomah County commissioners appointed Barbara Smith Warner in December to replace former Rep. Michael Dembrow, who vacated his seat to take an appointment to the Oregon Senate. Strong Republican opposition in the district, where Democrats hold a 17,774-voter registration advantage, isn’t expected. But Tom Sincic, a semi-retired nurse practitioner who also vied for the appointment to the Oregon House filed this week to run in the Democratic primary against Smith Warner.

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